"Lots of Love in a Small Town"

Report about LifeNets Ukraine Summer 2012 Mission by Lauren Kubik

After hours of traveling by plane, train, and bus we had finally arrived in the little town of Vinogradov, Ukraine. I was so excited to get to the camp and meet the kids who share some of the same heritage as me. As we pulled into the gates I saw groups of kids playing in the yard and they immediately swarmed the bus. I felt a rush of emotions of excitement, nervousness, happiness and love already for these beautiful kids. Would the kids like me? Would they be disappointed that I couldn’t have conversations with them? What if they just see me as a stranger and ignore me altogether? However, immediately as I got off the bus a group of little girls came up to me and shook my hand formerly greeting me and proud of their English, “Hello, what is your name? My name is Nadia. Nice to meet you.” Then three other girls grabbed my cousin Natasha and me and hugged us, kissed us, and jumped on us. I knew then that these next few weeks would be amazing.

Throughout our time there we had 12-16 hour days with about 40 kids. We would have morning English and Bible lessons. In the afternoons, because of the 100- degree days, we would spend time at the Tisa River for hours. After the afternoons
in the Tisa River, we would come back and have dinner and then go and play volleyball with the older kids for a majority of the evening. It was one of the best experiences I had in my life. Each day was so much fun and I feel like I truly made
genuine connections and friendships with the kids. I felt so comfortable being around all of the kids and there was so much love and happiness.

When I think about the kids, I think about the unconditional love they had for each other, for the Polichko’s, and for us. They were better behaved than many kids I have seen before. Every day we would come to camp before breakfast and be
greeted by smiles and hugs. And at the end of each day they would tell us how much they loved us and smile as they hugged and waved goodbye.

Although we did have some formal English lessons with crafts, music and “The Lord’s Prayer”, most of our “teaching” was all in context with the events of the day. As the two weeks went on, I could tell a significant improvement on the kids’ confidence and English skills. They soaked up the language like a sponge. Whether at the river or on the volleyball court, we would go back and forth saying the English words and the Ukrainian words. The kids loved teaching us Ukrainian as much as we enjoyed teaching them English. “I love you, I love you, I love you.” I have never heard or said it so much in my life and it was all completely genuine because the kids all showed it.

One of the nights, Natasha and I stayed overnight at the camp with Alina (the cook who was our age). She volunteered her time to cook every single meal, and do all of the dishes and clean up at camp. She and Erika (sisters) treated us so well and it
was great to befriend someone our age. Also, Dianna and Anya (sisters as well) who were just a bit younger than us stayed to talk with us that evening. Alina is pretty much fluent in English and so we had nice conversations with her and she would
translate for us and the other girls. We talked about life, school, work, boys, and God. It was awesome to make such great friends who we could have deep conversations with even though I had just met them. Although I know I am very blessed and don’t have major hardships in life, our conversations reassured this for me. She briefly told me about how it is hard to travel outside of the country and that they all work so hard for little pay. She said that although life is hard (at times), at least they have God. When she said that, I was shocked because I rarely, if ever, hear that at home. In America we have so much stuff, our lives are so busy, and our main concern is the next best thing. It was humbling to hear her say, “at least we have God” because I think I get sidetracked a lot from what really matters. She was such a good example for me and made me realize that I don’t need to worry so much about my little problems and that faith in God is really all that matters.

The last night of camp (my favorite night) the kids performed their songs to a couple parents. We taught them about four VBS songs and they were singing them all day, every day. They loved it and had so much fun singing out loud. After the performances, we had a huge feast outside. It was the part of the trip when I started to get emotional because I knew that after dinner we would say our goodbyes, which was the hardest part of the trip for me. Hugging the kids and saying goodbye
was heartbreaking. They all said, “I love you” so much with tears in their eyes and unending hugs. Everyone was trading their bracelets that they made during camp and it warmed my heart.

I wish I could continue sharing my experience in Ukraine and how much I truly loved every moment of it. I am so grateful for this opportunity and know that I have a permanent place for those kids in my heart. I am looking down at my bracelet
that one of the boys gave me and remember the tears in his eyes as we hugged goodbye. Those kids were the most loving kids and so full of life. The nine boys that the Polichko’s adopted were so protective of each other. The older kids looked out for the younger ones. They always were willing to help and work at camp without complaints. At camp, the kids always made sure that no one was left out and that they treated each other well. They were outgoing and had such great faith
in God. Every time we prayed before or after meals it would be a different person and I could just see that through church, the lessons, the songs, and their daily interactions that they loved each other and God. I have pictures of all of their smiles in my mind and great memories of the overall experience. I went to Ukraine hoping to teach a few lessons and have fun with the kids, and I left with genuine and loving friendships, a new understanding on selflessness and service, and a humble outlook on my own life.